Saladin
Saladin is one of the AI opponents that appears in Stronghold Crusader, Extreme and Stronghold Crusader 2. Background Saladin was the Sultan of Egypt & Syria who led the Muslim army against the Crusaders. He eventually recaptured Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem after his victory in the Battle of Hattin. In the third crusade, he fought against the forces of Christian opposition lead by Richard The Lionheart. The battle ended with a treaty that allowed for entrance of Christianity into Jerusalem, and called for a three year truce.Article on Saladin (Wikipedia) Appearance As an Arabian lord, he wears a white turban with a golden crescent symbol at the front. His calm face is adorned by a thick facial hair around his mouth, and surrounded by red scarf with yellow color on the edge that is connected at the front of his chest by a sunflower-like emblem. His posture is very good, similar to that of the Lionheart and the Snake. Like most other lords, he wears a metal chain armor. He wields a sword. The Arabian lord unit in the game is modeled on Saladin. Personality He is a calm, kind-hearted person who always cares for his people. He tends to refer the player as "my friend", indicating that he is an easy-going person. Despite this, he has a very serious tone of voice unlike the similarly easy-going Emir. In battle, he never underestimates his enemies, nor does he overestimate them. He likes to show off his might with confidence, troops and mild taunts. Castles and strategies Saladin is one of the hardest AI characters in Stronghold Crusader. He is able to get rich very quickly and swarms troops with ease. One of his weaknesses is that he takes a medium amount of time to set up his keep and defenses. In Stronghold Crusader Saladin tends to build one of the best all-round economies. He has extensive resource mining, as well as he tries to make use of every opportunity to gain gold. He uses a very high number of bakeries and breweries, and he employs positive fear factor to maximize taxes. He also constructs a number of workshops to convert raw iron into more valuable equipment. Saladin constructs square-shaped castles with numerous round towers, thick walls and large gatehouses. He uses mangonels along with ballistae and mans his towers with Arabian bowmen and fire throwers. A narrow moat is also dug to protect outlying buildings (mostly good things) under the walls. Saladin is active in harassment and organized attacks, using almost every Arabian unit except for slingers. He constructs numerous fire ballistae for long-range attacks, as well as he sends catapults to destroy exposed farms and industry buildings. Saladin is notable for his horse archer raids and the high number of Arabian bowmen he uses in conjunction with Arabian swordsmen. For more details, see: Saladin/Strategies (SHC) In Stronghold Crusader 2 Saladin remains pretty much unchanged compared to Stronghold Crusader. Though his economy excludes weapons workshops, he produces most food types to enhance tax rates. He builds no mosques however and therefore he relies on his industrial buildings to gain income, making his economy a bit less effective. Saladin's most common castle consists of two rings of walls with a wide courtyard for his buildings inbetween. He adds a boost to his defense by a lot of lookout towers, as well as he uses a lot of mangonels and ballistae. He uses no traps, as Saladin relies on plenty of Arabian bowmen and several siege engines to repel attacks. Saladin attacks in multiple waves and he has retained his fond for horse archer harassment. His siege armies contain Arabian bowmen, Arabian swordsmen and whirling dervishes, as well as he constructs a number of mantlets, catapults and war wagons filled with Arab bowmen. Dealing with Saladin For tips on how to beat Saladin, see: Saladin/Counter-strategies (SHC) Quotes For 's quotes, see: *Stronghold Crusader quotes *Stronghold Crusader 2 quotes Trivia *He is the only historical personality in the game, whose nicknames are not simply numbers, rather actual titles. External Links Category:Characters